Apparatus for the production of gaseous fuel.



A. W. SOUTHEY.

- APPARATUS FOR THE PRODUCTION or GASEOUS FUEL.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 19. 1912 1,068,70. Patented July 29, 1913.

lnvenl'or Witnesses Amman WILLIAM soo'wnnx, or mm. HILL, Lennon; ENGLAND.

APPARATUS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF GASEOUS FUEL.

,aos.

specification of Letters Patent. Patented July 29, ll'ill Application filed August 19, 1912. Serial No. 715,844.

To all whom it may concern; V y

Be it known that I, ALFRED WlILLIAM SOUTHEY, a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at Cherry House, Hale Lane, Mill Hill, London, Eng

land, have invented new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for the Production .of Gaseous Fuel, ofwhich the following is a specification.

' This invention rel from petroleum and other heavy. oils of a gaseous fuel for use with internal combustion engines.

The gaseous fuel may be produced in ap- 1V paratus of the type wherein the heat generated by partial combustion of a portion of the oil fuelisuised to vaporize the fuel and to .gasify it effectually.

The. object of the invention'is to reduce the amount of fuelconsumed in obtaining a combustible-gaseous mixture, by, first raising the tem erature of the original fuel to a much higher \point than has hitherto been .same point and .as 1s the case w ere the proposed, and at the same time I insure'that should any unfixed vapor be present it shall have been heated to so high a temperature as will prevent condensation in the engine cylinders. By vaporizing the fuel, for example by passing'it through a'heated coil beforeit reaches the point where combustion takes place, the heat required for eifectin'g' fixation of the vapor is obtained at the expense of less fuel than heretofore.

According tothe present invention the,

operations of vaporization and combustion of the fuel are not allowed to proceed at the racticall simultaneously liquid fuel in 'a trough is ignited, and the fuel vaporized by the heat of combustion is immediately subjected to combustion at the-point of vaporization, but the operations of vaporization and combustion 'are caused to proceed sepa- .rately in the order named.

1 The invention accordingly consists in a method of producing gaseous fuel from liquid fuel by first vaporizing the same without combustion, admixing the vapor produced with a limited quantity of air, and.

then effecting partial combustion of this mixture so as to produce fixation.

The operation of fixation is facilitated by pre-heating the fuel whether in the liquid or other state, before it reaches the point where combustion takes place, by means of suitable heated surfaces, mixing it with air ates to the production The invention further consists in the improved oil gas generator hereinafter described.

- Referring now to the accompanying drawings:--Figures 1 and 2 show diagrammatically in vertical section two forms of an oil gas generator according to the present invention.

According to the arrangement shown in Fig. 1, the generator comprises a cylindrical vessel, (1, in WhlCl1)the pre-heating of the oil and the subsequent fixation of the vapor is effected. The oil for supplying the heat necessary for this purpose is supplied to the vessel (1, from a conduit b, controlled by a float regulated needle valve 0, of the ordinary type, and is burned in an annular wick d, preferably of asbestos, supported between two concentric rings d d fastened on the bottom of the. vessel (1.

Air inlets e, controlled by suitable nonreturn valves 71, such as of thetype illustrated', admit the air necessary for support- .ing combustion of the oil burning in the .wick, the products of combustion thereby produced being withdrawn from the vessel a, through a delivery pipe f, connected with the suction of the engine to be supplied with the gaseous fuel. 7

' The oil, such as paraiiin, from which the gaseous fuel is to. be produced, is preferably stored under pressure in a reservoir 9,

'in a well-known manner, and by means of a conduit controlled by a valve, h, is delivered into a pre-heating'coil, is situated within the vessel a, in sucha position that it is exposed to the hot products of a fixative combustion which takes place in the region above the wick d. In order to concentrate such products in the neighborhood of the pre-heating coil, is, the former are passed through a restricted s ace between two concentrically arranged afiies, m and n, here shown as of frusto-conical shape, the outer one m of which deflects the course of the air admitted through the inlets e, and causes it to flow over the w'ick' d, and thereafter produce a zone of maximum temperature at the'place where the products of combustion are concentrated-in the restricted space between the baffles m and n. The coil k may if desired be in cont-act with the outer baflie m. The products of combustion thus effectually heat the pre-heating coil is, in passing through which the oil is vaporized and I m, suchinlets being as before controlled by.

delivered, in the form of the invention shown' 1 Fig. 1, into the space Within the annular wick (l, as a super-heated vapor. The suction of the engine through the pipe then withdraws such oil vapor which wit 1 the air admitted through the inlets e passes through the zone of maximum temperature between the battles m and n, where the vapor is converted into a fixed gas which passes with the air and products of combustion to the delivery pipe, f. The flame burning near the wick (Z thus pre-heats the fuel and at the same time effects the fixation of the vaporsproduced by such pre-heating.

The wick is necessary to supply oil vapor to enable'the fixative flame to be initiated, but afterward it is unimportant whether oil be supplied to the wick or not as the vapor coming from the coil will itself maintain the fixative flame.

' Accordin to the modified arrangement shown in Flg. 2, air is admitted to the generator vessel (2, by inlets e, near the top of a funnel p, extending above the outer bafiie non-return valves The oil is fed into a pre-heating coil 70, and the vapor formed therein is conducted by a pipe 1', situated either outside or within the vessel a, into the passage between the outer baflle m, and the walls of the vessel a, where the oil vapor meets the air admitted by the inlets e. The oil vapor and air thenpass downward, under the bafiie m, and through the zone of maximum temperature between the outer and inner baiiles m and n, where fixation of the vapor is effected previous to the gaseous fuel being delivered to the outlet pipe f. Such an arrangement has the advantage that the oil vapor issuing from the coil k, impinges upon'the hot baffles, and any oilwhich may come overunvaporized is'immediately converted into vapor on contactin with the baflies and is in many cases super eated before reaching the zone where fixation is effected. The bafiies therefore form a part of the surfaces which effect the vaporization of the fuel and at the same time the pre-heatin of the air forming part of the combustib e mixture. Obviously such heatin surfaces need not be in the form of a 0011 and bafiies, but may take any other form which offers a large heating surface 'to the fuel and air if necessary.

If desired, the oil may be fed into the enerator under pressure from a pump, or

if preferred by the suction of the engine,

both forms being well known, the supply of oil bein regulated so as not to exceed that require by the engine and fixative flame.

Other modification may be made in the details of the apparatus according to the present invention without departing. from the spirit of the invention.

\Vhat I claim as my invention is 1. An apparatus for producinggaseous fuel from liquid fuel comprising means wherein the liquid is vaporized without combustion and without the presence of'air, a receptacle having separate inlets for air and for all of said vapor in which recepmeans containing the liquid fuel to vapor-' ize said liquid fuel.

3. An apparatus for producing gaseous fuel from liquid fuel comp-risin means wherein the liquid fuel is vaporize without combustion and without the presence of air,-

a receptacle wherein all of said vapor is mixed with, air at substantially atmospheric pressure, means in said receptacle for pro:

ducing a flame, and means for directing the mixture through said flame to be fixed by partial self-combustion.

4. An apparatus for producmg,

fuel from liquid fuel comprising a eating gaseous means, surfaces heated by said means over which said liquid fuel passes without self-' combustion and free from the presence of. air, whereby said fuel is vaporized, and a' receptacle wherein all'of said vapor is mixed with air and the mixture afterward subjected to partial combustion byuthe same heating means used'to vaporize said fuel.

5. An apparatus for producing gaseous fuel from liquid fuel comprismg a -C01l' heated by a flame through which'coil said fuel passes to be vaporized, and a receptacle wherein said vapor is afterward mixed with air at substantially atmospheric pressure, and means for directing all of said mixture openly through the flame by which said coil is heated and the mixture fixed by partial combustion.

6. An apparatus for producing gaseous fuel for internal oombustlon engines from liquid fuel comprising a casing, a mixmg' receptacle in said casing,.means in said receptacle for producing a flame, a coil of pipe adapted to be heated by said flame, into one end of which coil liquid fuel, is fed and mew-roe escapes into the mixing receptacle, means for supplying air at normal pressure to mix with said vapor, and means for causing said mixture to pass through the coil heating flame and bepa-rtly consumed and fixed.

An apparatus for producing gaseous fuel for internal combustion engines from liquid fuel comprising a coil open at one end, into the opposite end of which liquid fuel is supplied without air, means for heating the coil to vaporize the liquid fuel which escapes through the open end, an air supply, and means for obtaining a concentrated zone of flame through which the vaporized fuel and air are drawn by the suction of the engine.

8. An apparatus for producing gaseous fuel for internal combustion engines from liquid fuel comprising a coil into which the fuel is fed and vaporized, and from which it escapes through one end, means fbrheat 1 ing the coil, an air inlet, and a bafile adapted to deflect the air entering to mix with vaporized fuel beneath the coil and be carried through the heating means to be partly consumed and fixed.

9. An apparatus for producing gaseous fuel for internal combustion engines from liquid fuel, comprising a casing, a tubular;

coil into which liquid fuel is fed Without air and vaporized and from one end of which said vapor escapes, a fuel supply, an

to mix with said vapor and be partly consumed, and baffles on the inside and outside of said coil to direct the flame of said burning mixture onto the coil and heat it.

10. An apparatus for producing gaseous fuel for internal combustion engines from liquid fuel, comprising a casing, a tubular coil therein in which said liquidvfuel is vaporized, a fuel supply to said coil, a trough below said coil, a separate fuel supply to said trough, a wick in said trough for producing a flame to initiallv heat said coil, an air inlet to the casing through which air enters and mixing with said vapor, the mixture is partly consumed and the gas fixed, baffles on the inside and outside of said coil to direct the flame onto. the coil, and an outlet-to the engine leading from the space between said baflles.

Josnrn WILLIAM TnoMrsoiv, G. W. Bnmons.

air inlet through which air enters the casing 

